What is the Training Program like?

AMIGOS has almost 50 years of experience training Volunteers to serve in communities throughout Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Our training program offers hands-on experience to learn skills necessary to succeed in our projects. In the Chicago North Chapter training program and in-country briefing, Volunteers learn and practice the human relations, cross-cultural, language, leadership, health and safety and technical skills they will need for their project.

The Chicago North Chapter training program begins in late November and ends in early June. We meet for 8-9 Sunday afternoons over these months, and also have three overnight retreats, typically in  November, January, and April. Our training sessions take place at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka.  Our overnight retreats normally take place farther afield, but we will work with Volunteers on carpooling if necessary.  You can see this year's Training Calendar by clicking the link on the left hand side of the page.

When making our calendar, we do our best to plan around important events, i.e. holidays, public  school vacations, SAT/PSAT testing dates, and other pre-planned  events, but do understand that, occasionally, Volunteers may have to miss a meeting. Therefore we also have the following attendance policy:

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PARTICIPATION

Volunteers in the Amigos de las Américas program are expected to participate actively and fully in all training activities.

TRAINING and ATTENDANCE POLICY

The Amigos program is designed to develop youth leaders. The training sessions build on these skills while also preparing Volunteers for a successful and safe summer of cross-cultural exchange and community development in Latin America. Your training in Amigos is crucial to your success in Latin America. It is therefore essential that you honor the attendance policy. It is also expected that volunteers manage their own communications with the training director.

Volunteers are expected to take responsibility for their own training – because they want to!

Volunteers are expected to attend ALL training sessions, Spanish practice time, retreats, and service learning events (the dates of service learning events will be decided individually between the Volunteer and the Service Learning Coordinator), and are expected to be on time and participate in the entire event.

We understand that the Volunteers interested in the Amigos program often have other conflicting activities and priorities. The following policy is in place to deal with these circumstances:

• The Volunteer (not his or her parents) must inform the training director 2 weeks before any planned absence (or partial absence), unless the absence is the result of unexpected urgent event or illness.  Keep the Training Director's email address and phone number somewhere where you can always access it.

• The Volunteer is responsible for communicating with the Training Director to find out what activities were missed, and is expected to turn in a one-page typed summary of the corresponding chapters in the Volunteer Handbook and/or Program Guide. The summary should be emailed to the training director by the Friday following the missed meeting.

• In the event that more than two training sessions are missed, the Volunteer must come before the Chapter Board of Directors the next time they meet, or by conference call, to express his or her continued commitment to the program.
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In the event that a Volunteer misses a session without giving advance notice to the Training Director, they would need to go directly to the step of speaking with the Board of Directors.</li>
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In the event that a Volunteer has attended all sessions, but has shown little to no participation or interest in the program, he or she may also be requested to speak with the Board regarding their continued committment to Amigos.</li>
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• All retreats are mandatory. In the event that a portion or all of a retreat must be missed, the Volunteer must come before the Chapter Board of Directors before the missed retreat to express his or her continued commitment to the program.
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SPANISH ACTIVITIES</h1>

This year there are 8 Spanish activities planned, and all volunteers are required to attend 3 of them.  They range from museum outings, films in Spanish, dance parties and cooking lessons--everything in Spanish!!  You are welcome to attend more, of course!  Exact details can be found in the list of upcoming events on the homepage.

 
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SERVICE LEARNING</h1>

Mission and Goals of AMIGOS Service Learning

DEFINITION:Service Learning is a teaching strategy that connects the AMIGOS curriculum with service projects. Service Learning engages the volunteer in projects that serve the community while building social skills, developing a strong sense of social responsibility and civic awareness. Service Learning will prepare the volunteer for his/her summer in Latin America. This outreach will also strengthen relationships between volunteers and local community organizations, creating a larger awareness of the AMIGOS de las Américas program.

YOUR GOAL: The volunteer will find a community organization or partner to provide an authentic Service Learning experience.

GUIDELINES:In order to qualify as an AMIGOS Service Learning project, the service experience must relate to an activity or community project that the volunteer may complete in community. Here are some ideas to get you thinking about possible projects:education, children, elderly, environmental awareness, community garden, construction project, leadership, Spanish, or cross-cultural exchange.

The following components will be involved in each volunteer’s Service Learning:

•     Preparation- Students prepare for their service by learning about the issue, building their skills, and developing an action plan for service.

•     Action- Students engage in meaningful service by working on a project that will make a difference in their community and is tied to the AMIGOS curriculum and summer experience.

•     Reflection–Sarah will work with students during training to analyze and make sense of the volunteer’s experience through discussion, journaling, and presentation opportunities.

 

SERVICE LEARNING REQUIREMENTS:Volunteer must complete a minimum of 6 hours of Service Learning between December 1st and May 31st.All Service Learning projects must be pre-approved by Sarah by February 10th.
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Questions about the above or extenuating circumstances? Please contact the Training Director or Board directly at <a href="mailto:amigoschicagonorth@gmail.com">amigoschicagonorth@gmail.com</a> to discuss your situation! 
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Amigos de las Americas

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What is the Training Program like?

Training Meeting

Training Meeting AND Parent Meeting!

spanish event--picasso and chicago

spanish event--latin cooking lesson

Training Meeting

Training Meeting ... and Parent Meeting!

Training Meeting

spanish event--latino film festival, part I

Spanish Retreat!!--LOCATION TBA

spanish event--film festival part II

Training meeting ... and parent meeting

spanish event-latin dance party!

Training meeting

despedida! (bon voyage party)

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What is the Training Program like?

Upcoming Events

Training Meeting

Training Meeting AND Parent Meeting!

spanish event--picasso and chicago

spanish event--latin cooking lesson

Training Meeting

Training Meeting ... and Parent Meeting!

Training Meeting

spanish event--latino film festival, part I

Spanish Retreat!!--LOCATION TBA

spanish event--film festival part II

Training meeting ... and parent meeting

spanish event-latin dance party!

Training meeting

despedida! (bon voyage party)

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